Harbour Investment Management LLC Acquires 511 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Harbour Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,050 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Harbour Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $292,081,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $266.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $301.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.97.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.